Current Amendments to Polish Electoral Law in the Light of European Standards
- Institution: University of Łódź (Poland)
- Year of publication: 2018
- Source: Show
- Pages: 457-466
- DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy2018301
- PDF: ppsy/47-3/ppsy2018301.pdf
In December 2017 and January 2018, the Sejm and Senate, thanks to the votes of the deputies of ruling party Law and Justice, passed hugely controversial law amending inter alia Polish Electoral Code. Its adoption was opposed by the parliamentary opposition, by the electoral administration bodies and by many experts, however unsuccessfully. The enactment of this law destabilises the electoral system without a clear or evident need and treats the electoral code as a political instrument. Secondly, it does not provide the sufficient time for adaptation (vacatio legis), which may jeopardise free and fair local elections and the stability of the political system. Thirdly, the bill contains numerous unclear provisions and is in many parts written in a careless and contradictory way. Such amendments do not correspond with the European standards, described in the Venice Commission’s Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters.
References:
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Name, S. (Year). “Title of paper”. Title of journal, 1(1), pp. 100 – 111. DOI: xxx.
Documents:
- Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters was adopted by the Venice Commission at its 51st and 52nd session, on July 5 – 6, 2002 and October 18 – 19, 2002.
- The act amending certain acts to increase the participation of citizens in the election, operating and controlling certain public authorities, Dz. U. 2018, poz. 130.
- Analiza skutków niektórych zmian w Kodeksie Wyborczym proponowanych w projekcie, Warsaw: Fundacja Batorego 2017.
- Opinion on the Draft Act amending the Act on The National Council Of The Judiciary, on the Draft Act Amending The Act On The Supreme Court, proposed by the President of Poland, and on The Act On the Organisation of Ordinary Courts.
Literature:
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